THE DARK SIDE OF NATURE.
When Bill Harding and his girlfriend (Bill Paxton, Jami Gertz) go to see his soon-to-be ex-wife (Helen Hunt) to get the divorce papers signed, they get caught up chasing tornadoes in Oklahoma.Ā The visual effects may look cheaper by todayās standards, but this is still a hugely entertaining (and well-made) disaster movie. Much like the bus in the directorās previous film,Ā SpeedĀ (1994), thereās just no stopping Mother Nature here; the filmmakers skilfully build tension and itās fun following the adventures of Huntās storm-chasing team. The two stars are very likable together and itās easy to ignore the stupid and unbelievable aspects of the formula.
1996-U.S. 114 min. Color. Widescreen.Ā Produced byĀ Michael Crichton, Kathleen Kennedy, Ian Bryce.Ā Directed byĀ Jan De Bont.Ā Screenplay:Ā Michael Crichton, Anne-Marie Martin.Ā Cast:Ā Helen Hunt (Jo Harding), Bill Paxton (Bill Harding), Cary Elwes (Jonas Miller), Jami Gertz, Lois Smith, Alan Ruckā¦ Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jake Busey.
BAFTA:Ā Best Special Visual Effects.Ā Razzie:Ā Worst Written Film Grossing Over $100 Million.
Last word: “When I was researching this originally, and I started reading about the Tri-State Tornado of March 18th, 1925, which still holds all the records ā a tornado that stayed on the ground for 3 1/2 hours, two miles wide and traveled through three states: Missouri, Illinois and Indiana ā a couple years ago I tracked with a buddy of mine, Scott Thomson, who played Preacher in [‘Twister’], we went and we tracked the trail. We went to all these historical societies in towns like Murphysboro [in Illinois], that looked like Hiroshima when this thing went through, and we talked to old timers andā¦ You know, it doesnāt make any difference how many of these warning systems they have. Thereās a significant event like that, thatās almost a biblical event, and the old timers, you know what they say down there: āIf it happened onceā¦ā” (Paxton, CraveOnline)